The Principles Of Petrology

N this book the task of summarising modern petrology I from the genetic standpoint has been attempted. The scale of the work is small as compared with the magni tude of its subject, but it is nevertheless believed that the field has been reasonably covered. In conformity with the genetic viewpoint petrology, as contrasted with petrography, has been emphasised throughout; and purely descriptive mineralogical and petrographical detail has been omitted. Every petrologist who reads this book will recognise the author's indebtedness to Dr. A. Harker and Dr. A. Holmes, among British workers; to Prof. R. A. Daly, Dr. H. S. Washington, and Dr. N. L. Bowen, among American petrologists; and to Prof. J. H. L. Vogt, Prof. V. M. Goldschmidt, Prof. A. Lacroix, and Prof. P. Niggli. among European investigators. The emphasis laid on modern views, and the relative poverty of references to the works of the older generation of petrologists, does not imply any disrespect of the latter. It is due to recognition of the desirability of affording the petrological student a newer and wider range of reading references than is usually supplied in this class of work; for refer ences tend to become stereotyped as well as text and illustrations. Furthermore it is believed that all that is good and living in the older work has been incorporated, consciously or unconsciously, in the newer.

A textbook providing a quantitative approach to the petrologic principles of igneous and metamorphic rocks in a new edition.

This undergraduate textbook on the key subject of geology closely follows the core curriculum adopted by most universities throughout the world and is a must for every geology student. It covers all aspects of petrology, including not only the principles of petrology but also applications to the origin, composition, and field relationships of rocks. Although petrology is commonly taught in the junior year, this book is a useful resource for graduate students as well.

This book offers a complete introduction to the study of metamorphic rocks.

Igneous petrology was to some extent essentially a descriptive sci ence until about 1960. The results were mainly obtained from field work, major element analyses, and microscopical studies. During the 1960's two simultaneous developments took place, plate tectonics became generally accepted, and the generation of magmas could now be related to the geodynamic features like convection cells and subduction zones. The other new feature was the development of new analytical apparatus which allowed high accuracy analyses of trace elements and isotopes. In addition it became possible to do ex perimental studies at pressures up to 100 kbar. During the 1970's a large amount of analytical data was obtained and it became evident that the igneous processes that control the compositions of magmas are not that simple to determine. The composition of a magma is controlled by the compositions of its source, the degree of partial melting, and the degree of fractionation. In order to understand the significance of these various processes the relationship between the physical processes and their geochemical consequences should be known. Presently there are several theories that attempt to explain the origin of the various magma types, and these theories can only be evaluated by turning the different ideas into quantitative models. We will so to speak have to do some book keeping for the various theories in order to see which ones are valid. the present book is intended as an introduction to the more fun damental aspects of quantitative igneous petrology.